Indonesian internal conflict (1981-2005)
the Indonesian internal conflict, called by some the Indonesian Civil War was a period of internal conflict and occasional bursts of civil war in Indonesia from December 1981 to March 2005 (with some continued very isolated fighting continuing until May 2011). The internal conflict's dates are often denoted as from December 14, 1981 to February 21, 2005. It started on December 10, 1981, when Emperor Jung II of the Indonesian Empire fired Chairman of the Indonesian Press Organization, Juanda Changpu, this led to increased violence in the nation of Indonesia, as Changpu was often critical of the government, and sided with the people more often than not. By December 12, the Indonesian Royal Army had defected to the side of the people, and the events culminated on December 14 with the 1981 Indonesian coup d'etat which saw Emperor Jung II deposed, and a military government put in place. Many consider the coup in 1981 to be the beginning of the internal conflict, the first major incident of the conflict was the Papua uprising on December 20, 1981, as many rebel groups attempted to fill the power gap left behind as the Indonesian army struggled to establish control. By January 4, 1982, the military junta was forced to grant Papua New Guinea independence, however refused to let go of western Papua, leading to further protests and uprisings through the 1980's and 1990's. The island of Timor saw the most brutal fighting of the conflict, as the Timor uprising broke out on February 14, 1982, which would not end until May 10, 2011 with the independence of the Republic of Timor. Remaining Jung II royalists would continue to fight, mainly in densely forested areas on the island of Sumatra until August 1997 when the Instrument of Surrender of the Empire of Indonesia was sent to the military junta. Juanda Changpu and his allies would form the Free Indonesian Republic in October 1985, mainly operating in guerrilla conflicts on the island of Borneo, they would continue fighting until May 9, 2004, when they merged with the Indonesian Resistance Movement following Changpu's death. The Indonesian Resistance Movement was the most prominent group of the internal conflict, having assisted the military in the 1981 coup, however, they continued to fight for a pro-Western and democratic government after they determined the junta wasn't being dissolved anytime soon. They mostly operated in and around the Jakarta area during the mid to late 1980's, and attacked various military bases in Sumatra and Java until they finally overthrew the government in February 2005. The Peoples Socialist Army of Indonesia was a militia and terrorist organization, which was supported by China (1987-1995) and the Soviet Union (1984-1988), they are the only militia to continue actively fighting to this day. They partook in attacks on civilian populations, mainly from 1994 to 1999 before their armed wing was briefly dissolved until 2002. The Caliphate of Borneo and Sulawesi was also a militia and terrorist organization, which participated in bombing major areas, as well as active armed conflict, such as the short-lived American embassy in Jakarta from 2003 to 2004. They were a far-left group, much like the PSAI, and were merged into the PSAI in 2007. The 1990's were a turning point for the worse for the military junta, as the Chinese and Iranians stopped supplying them in 1997, and they ran out of oil in 1999. Not only that, but they lacked the equipment to make oil rigs, due to UN embargoes. By 2002, living conditions in Indonesia were considered some of the worst in the world. What many considered was the beginning of the end for the military junta was the death of Eka Suharto Lesmana on August 21, 2002 at the age of 90. By 2004, the Indonesian military had completely lost grip on the situation and the most violent year of the conflict was 2004, as active battles ravaged Borneo from both the CBS, and the IRM, as well as the PSAI. By February 2005, Sumatra and Java had become war-torn areas, and following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, tensions reached a boiling point. Finally, the climax of the conflict began on January 30, 2005 with the IRM seizing government buildings in Palembang and calling for revolution all over Indonesia, thus beginning the 2005 Indonesian revolution. By February 4, 2005, the revolution had succeeded in toppling the military junta and a short-lived provisional government was put in place on February 5. By March 10, elections were in progress and the provisional government was dissolved. The CBS would refuse repeated ultimatums to surrender, although the President of Indonesia formally announced the end of the civil war on March 12, 2005. By 2007, the CBS went defunct and was dissolved into the PSAI, which continues to actively operate in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea (which reunited with the Republic of Papua in 2006), and Australia, with some unrelated operations affiliated with Communist Party USA in the United States. On May 10, 2011, the President of Indonesia and Chairman of the Timorese Resistance Movement met at Surabaya, where they came to a agreement that night, signing the Treaty of Surabaya, in which the Republic of Timor would be formed, many recognize this as the official end of the Indonesian internal conflict. However, a final skirmish of the conflict occurred on May 14, 2011, when a Indonesian destroyer, sailing near Timor, not hearing that the war had ended, bombed a Timorese civilian ship, which resulted in the Timorese Navy being deployed and attacking the Indonesian destroyer, which almost caused another war between Timor and Indonesia. In the end, the estimated death toll related to the conflict is 1,200,000 in Indonesia, 100,000 in Papua New Guinea, 135,000 in Timor, 30,000 in Malaysia (excluding Malaysian Borneo), 20,000 in Brunei, 75,000 in Malaysian Borneo, 3,000 in Singapore, 1,500 in the United Kingdom and 55 in the United States (includes terrorist attacks carried out by the CBS and PSAI), in total, an estimated 1,564,555 were killed as the result of the conflict.